Feature Analysis

This feature article is from Kerrang! magazine and has used a slightly unique layout as it is not text heavy at all but it still manages to look balanced and stylish. The reason there are more images than text is because the article is informing the readers about the 'Kerrang! Relentless tour 2010' and the images are of the bands that are on the tour, getting bigger as they get more well known/popular until the main image (the one taking up most of the right hand page) is a member of the band that is headlining the tour. 

The colour scheme consists of 3 colours on this double page spread which are blue, white and black. The white of the text is to correspond with the images as in the main image the man is wearing a white tshirt, as is a man in one of the smaller images, and it is also to correspond with the background of 2 images. The black of the colour scheme is simply the rest of the main image setting the background for the text, however it may also be because the article is about a concert which is generally in quite a dark setting. The usage of black was most likely chosen because black is the stereotypical colour that is associated with this genre of music (rock; which is easy to tell just by looking at the images because the main image features a man playing an electric guitar (the generic instrument related to rock) and also because Kerrang! is well known for featuring rock bands) and also because black carries connotations such as rebellion, mystery and dark feelings (which are generically portrayed in songs from the genre of rock). 

There are quite a few different typography styles on this double page spread making it look fairly messy which relates to the personas of the target audience. This is because rock is about rebellion and therefore the consumers of rock make an effort to look different to society's norms and they also make an effort to make it look like they have not made an effort to look good because they simply do not care whether people think they do or not and this means they end up looking fairly messy (with messy hair and clothes that clash, ripped jeans etc).  

The Relentless logo on the top of the first page is there because they are the official sponsors of the tour, however if you did not know this it would not be made obvious just by looking at it and if you did not know this you would think it was just a word the magazine was using to describe the festival which would not be surprising as rock concerts are generally energetic and fairly rough. This is a good sponsor for Kerrang! to have as it is an energy drink aimed at young adults which is also who the Kerrang! tour is aimed at. Relentless symbolises the same thing that Kerrang! concerts aspire to be and the audience attending the concert want to be, energetic and fun (which are the physical implications that would come from drinking an energy drink such as Relentless). This relates to Stanley Hall's theory (1904) that if young people can't get entertainment, they will turn to rebellion and alcohol etc to get it. 

In terms of mise-en-scene, the clothing that the people in the 3 smaller images are wearing are all dark colours which stereotypically will appeal to the target audience of Kerrang! as this is the type of clothing they wear and the type of clothing they will be attracted to people wearing because it means they will be able to relate to them. Speaking of target audience, the type of audience I would expect Kerrang! to have by looking at this article is from the age of 14-24 and in social grades E-D. I think this because there is not much text in this article but mainly images, which are of people who are not in threatening poses or swearing etc. Another reason I think this is because of the sponsor, Relentless. This appeals the most to teenagers as they see it as something like alcohol in the sense that it makes them more energetic and changes them slightly, but it is not dangerous and illegal. I think this is more likely to stereotypically appeal to males as there are no females in any of the images meaning they will not be able to relate or aspire to anyone, whereas makes will. I also think it is more likely to appeal to males because they (stereotypically) are the gender who consume rock music more which may be because women are seen to be innocent, gentle, elegant etc so they are less likely to enjoy loud, heavy, rock music with a lot of swearing and aggression in it. 

This is a feature article from Rocksound magazine which, unlike the previous one I analysed, is just about one band. Just from a quick glance at this you can tell that it is likely to be controversial and only appealing to a niche audience as there is swearing and words such as 'sacrifice' in bold letters that catch your eye more than the smaller text that is likely to be less controversial but not as interesting (this is an example of how the media creates and reinforces stereotypes as the genre of this band/music featured in this magazine is said to be 'rebellious' and 'controversial' but usually generally isn't). Another reason this article is straight away seen as controversial is the faces the band members are pulling in the main image, they look like they are a mix of angry, aggressive, laughing and sarcastic. 

This relates to Medhurst's theory that the middle-class producers of text say that "they are awful because they are not like us" which is taken to the extreme when presenting people from social grades C1-E (such as the people on this feature article because they are too young to have an established career, their presentation (facial hair, clothing etc) is not as classic as the middle-class males who produce media products and the language they use (a lot of swear words)) as the producers accentuate their flaws and take them to the extreme in order to make them look even more 'awful' (this may also be done to make the reader feel better about themselves). 

The colour scheme of this article is again black, white and blue although the main colours are black and white. This is a theme which runs through music magazines of the rock genre and is done purposely because if the colour scheme was, for instance, pink and yellow, the band and article would not be taken in the same way and they would no longer seem controversial and rebellious and would probably not attract the same audience as the usual readers of this magazine and usual listeners of this band as they would be surprised to see these colours in this magazine. 

This article is also image heavy instead of text heavy, infact there is hardly any text at all. The lack of text means this double page spread challenges conventions of generic double page spreads. The name of the band is the largest bit of text which makes it easier for the reader to decide right away if they want to read the article or not because they might like the band or they might not, if this bit of text was small it would take longer to find, meaning the reader might not find it and give up therefore not reading it and missing out on something they would like to read about. Another reason that the bands name is the largest section of text is that it makes it look more balanced and structured, for instance if the subheading was bigger it would not look as effective. There is a large section of text at the top of the left hand page which introduces the band and explains what the interview will involve etc. This is important as it gives new fans/people who don't know much about the band a chance to educate themselves before reading on.